Dark Rukia
is a malicious, alternate form of Rukia Kuchiki, created when Rukia was forcibly merged with Homura and Shizuku from the movie Bleach: Fade to Black. The result was a non-Visored Hollowfication, a Shinigami/Hollow hybrid. Though she is never explicitly called Dark Rukia in the movie, she is named as such in trailers and is a playable character in the Bleach video game, Bleach: Heat the Soul 6. Appearance Being a combination of Rukia, Homura and Shizuku, Dark Rukia possesses physical qualities from each of the three. She is dressed in a tattered, casual white kimono with what seems to be a long-collared red cape on her back. Her eyes have become cat-like and lavender, as well as her hair. She is barefoot and wears a golden cloth around her waist. Personality Being born from siblings who erased all of Rukia's memories, Dark Rukia retains none of her former personality and instead seems to be dominated entirely by a fusion of Homura and Shizuku's consciousness. She seeks to destroy all Shinigami, a desire spawned from the siblings' hatred of them and their wish to keep Rukia for themselves. Plot Bleach: Fade to Black Rukia, slowly recovering from having her memory erased by the siblings, remembers that Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai are her past friends. Homura is greatly upset by this and declares that she would never forgive Ichigo for trying to steal Rukia from them. She uses her unique power to wish that she, her brother, and Rukia will become one so that the three will never be separated again. Her wish is granted, resulting in a twisted form of Rukia, referred to as "Dark Rukia." Dark Rukia proceeds to activate Mayuri Kurotsuchi's invention, which begins to destroy Soul Society and flood the area with snake-like monsters. Renji deals with the other enemies, leaving Ichigo to do whatever is necessary to stop Dark Rukia. Ichigo is forced to fight Rukia, but never attempts to actually attack her, instead only evading her attacks. He desperately asks her to remember, earning a reply that Dark Rukia will use her power to erase Ichigo's memories of Rukia so that only the siblings will remember her. Ichigo states that the bond between him and Rukia transcends memory. Renji's soul was able to remember Ichigo, meaning the bonds between friends can never be broken, even if they are forgotten. Dark Rukia's attacks become more vicious and she nearly decapitates Ichigo, but she is halted by Byakuya Kuchiki's Rikujōkōrō. Byakuya sees the resemblance between Dark Rukia and Hisana Kuchiki and decides that he must be the one to exterminate Dark Rukia. Ichigo protests that Rukia is still in there and that the bond between him and her will never break. As Rukia begins to Hollowfy, the binding spell begins to break and Renji notes that she is going beyond help. However, Ichigo is reminded of his first encounter with her, upon seeing Kon begging Ichigo to save Rukia, where she had asked Ichigo if he wanted to save his family, and tells Byakuya that he wont give up. Byakuya tells him to do as he wishes and Dark Rukia breaks free from Byakuya's Kidō, enraged and declares her intention to kill Ichigo. Ichigo focuses his power and tells Rukia that it's his turn to give her his power. She and Ichigo clash for the last time and Ichigo impales Rukia with Zangetsu. Rukia is separated from the siblings and the Hollow that had been inside them is killed and purified. Powers & Abilities Enhanced Strength: Dark Rukia has incredible strength as she was able to completely break out of a level 61 binding spell cast by a Captain-class Shinigami, Byakuya Kuchiki. Hollowfication: Upon increased arousal out of anger, Dark Rukia undergoes a unique form of Hollowfication. Her teeth become jagged and her eyes turn completely black. This is seen during her fight with Ichigo where she becomes visibly more powerful and vicious, nearly decapitating him. Teleportation: Like Homura and Shizuku, Dark Rukia has the ability to teleport a short distance. She uses this to attack and surprise her opponents. It is unknown if she can teleport over longer distances. Hollow Scythe Dark Rukia wields a large and exquisitely designed dark red, double-edged scythe in combat. The scythe itself originally manifested in the form of a small, weak Hollow that had a scythe-like tail used to erase an enemy's memories. Some time after the Hollow merged with the siblings and they were transported to Hueco Mundo the scythe was created and used by Shizuku. Upon the creation of Dark Rukia the scythe (and the knowledge of its use) was transferred to her. Despite its size, she uses it with great proficiency and speed, able to contend with Tensa Zangetsu's agility and power (although Ichigo was holding back), throwing the weapon at him on occasion. *'Rift Attack': Dark Rukia swings her scythe in front of her enemy which opens a purple rift that unleashes a powerful blast of dark energy. *'Memory Erasure': Dark Rukia's scythe is capable of phasing through solid objects. Should the scythe phase through a living being, they are physically unharmed yet their memories are erased. This power has the ability to target only certain memories (rather than all memories) and has the capacity to affect other beings linked to that particular memory. For example, by erasing Rukia's memory that she ever became a Shinigami, everyone who knew her forgot she ever existed. Oddly enough, Modified Souls such as Kon seem to be immune to the effects of this type of memory erasure. Appearances in Other Media Dark Rukia is playable in the Bleach video game, Bleach: Heat the Soul 6, the debut of her first video game appearance, as well as Bleach: Heat the Soul 7. References Category:Characters Category:Movie Only Characters Category:Female